“Where Every Ghost Has a Name”: Kim Liao in conversation with Cosette Wu

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After hearing Kim Liao speak at the 2024 North American Taiwan Studies Association Conference welcoming plenary session, I found myself eagerly anticipating the September release of her book, Where Every Ghost Has a Name: A Memoir of Taiwanese Independence. In 2010, Kim traveled to Taiwan on a Fulbright, seeking to uncover the story of her grandfather, Thomas Liao (Liao Wen-yi), a prominent leader of the Taiwanese independence movement. Her research led to conversations with family near and far…

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 Chop Fry Watch Learn: Fu Pei-mei and the Making of Modern Chinese Food

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Introduction by Cathy Erway for TaiwaneseAmerican.org You can always tell the books that have been enjoyed the most by how damaged they are. Those books have been on adventures: Maybe you took them to the beach and clogged up their spines with sand. Maybe you rounded their edges from banging them around in your tote bag for weeks.  In the case of Pei Mei’s Chinese Cook Book Volume I, a copy of which sits in my parents’ bookshelf, the wear and tear is evident. A constant sight for as long…

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Taiwanese Homecoming: Meet Artist Felicia Liang

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We may try, but it’s not often our travel scrapbooks look as vivid as artist Felicia Liang’s. Liang’s art often depicts the cuisine, still life, and everyday objects of the Asian American experience. In 2022, as she prepared for a trip to Taiwan, she grabbed a set of color pencils, her preferred medium. There, she would sketch a range of foods and scenes she encountered during her three-month stay: scenes of Taiwanese breakfast, cafe eats, local sweets, and colorful dumplings. The contents…

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On Identity, Writing, and Preserving Heritage: Erica Lee Schlaikjer (“Wild Greens, Beautiful Girl”) in conversation with Crystal Z. Lee

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[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="1296"] Art by Cinyee Chiu. Published by Sleeping Bear Press.[/caption] As a parent, I'm perpetually on the lookout for children’s books about Taiwan or meaningful reads written by fellow Taiwanese American authors. Wild Greens, Beautiful Girl, is a soon-to-be released picture book that has been on my radar ever since I first heard of this award-winning story about an aboriginal Amis girl in Taiwan. My daughters and I were thrilled to receive an advanced…

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“Half a World Apart”: Grace Loh Prasad (The Translator’s Daughter) in conversation with Jami Nakamura Lin

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I’ve had the pleasure of following Grace Loh Prasad’s writing for years, after we met in a Facebook group for writers. (We finally met in person at AWP in 2021, at a gathering of Taiwanese American writers, and have met up at every AWP since!) After getting to see her journey from afar—and getting to read excerpts of her memoir in different literary journals—I was so delighted to be able to read The Translator’s Daughter (Ohio State University Press/Mad Creek Books) in full this year.  In…

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Beyond Boba: Grunge Rock, Taiwanese Democracy, and the Model Minority Myth—in A Kid’s Book

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  The idea for my first novel for kids, It’s Boba Time for Pearl Li!, came pretty easily. Anti-Asian and Asian American hate had surged in the early days of the pandemic, with its hateful perpetrators demanding that many of us who have lived in the US our entire lives “go home.” To resist their cruelty, I decided to create a sweet, happy, joyful book that showcased a normal, everyday, highly relatable Taiwanese American kid— one who was super proud of her heritage. And what immensely…

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NOW CASTING: First-generation Taiwanese immigrants, 60+ years

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"Life Lessons from Ah-Ma and Ah-Gong" is a documentary about first generation Taiwanese immigrants passing on their wisdom, stories, and skills to their grandchildren and the next generation. Click here to see a teaser on the website. From cooking, fishing, and gardening to history, language, and Taiwanese etiquette, the subjects of these lessons will unlock personal histories and deep memories, providing an intimate lens into the early years of a diverse Taiwanese American community pushed and…

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“KITE”: On Crossing and Choreographing ‘Min Bridges’

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The old railway in HaMaXing Is the perfect place for flying a kite As breeze plays in the air The kite flies in the sky The kite flies among the trees The kite flies into every kid’s laughter The kite flies back to Dad’s childhood time   A time when  Grandpa worked and went fishing  Like a kite that flew and flew  All the way to the faraway seas  The kite’s string – Tied tightly around Grandma’s heart Held firmly between Dad’s hands – Supports…

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Author Q&A: Kara H.L. Chen and “Love & Resistance,” “Asking for a Friend”

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We're so honored to share this interview between two of our literary champions. Tiffany is a Taiwanese American book blogger and co-founder of Subtle Asian Book Club (SABC), an international book club with 15,000+ members dedicated to amplifying Asian storytellers. She is a passionate advocate for the accessibility and readership of Asian American literature and uses her platform to combat anti-AAPI hate and support the flourishing of Asian communities worldwide. We knew she would facilitate an astute…

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Gathering Taiwanese American Writers at AWP 2024: “I wish I had this community growing up.”

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On Lunar New Year’s eve, we again gathered an expanding cohort of Taiwanese American changemakers in the literary world who’d convened in Kansas City for the Association of Writers & Writing Programs Conference (AWP). Our Year of the Dragon dinner was hosted at Chewology, led by recently James Beard semifinalist nominated-chef Katie Liu-Sung. We were touched by Katie's vision to bring Taiwan to Kansas City, where there are relatively fewer Asian Americans compared to coastal enclaves.…

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